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The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers | Bruce Jackson

Meet DNA scientist Bruce Jackson in this video profile from NOVA’s “The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers.” Bruce works to understand how DNA can help solve mysteries of human evolution and ancestry. His curiosity about his own ancestry led him to found the Roots Project, which compiles genetic profiles of African Americans so they can trace their ancestral origins. Bruce is also an expert scuba diver; he has integrated this passion into his investigation of African ancestry by exploring sunken slave ships in the Atlantic with the use of an underwater robotic survey system he developed. This resource is part of the NOVA: Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers Collection.

Introduction to the Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers Video Profiles

How can the video profiles help you address STEM careers and the Next Generation Science Standards?The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers video profiles provide stories of real people with diverse and interesting careers in STEM fields. Bringing these videos into your classroom can be a motivational and impactful way to discuss careers. The videos provide concrete examples that students can connect with. Additionally, students may find aspects of themselves reflected in the stories of those profiled.

The Secret Life video profiles are also useful for addressing the NGSS Crosscutting Concept: Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World component of any topic you are teaching. The video profiles showcase a diverse group of scientists and engineers and how they have an impact on society and the world through their work.

Why should you use the videos in your classroom to address STEM careers?As technology becomes further integrated into our daily lives, and as industries seek to stay competitive in the global economy, STEM skills will be in greater demand. Through watching videos that profile real-life scientists and engineers, students will gain insight into careers that offer challenge, excitement, a good living, and the opportunity to contribute meaningful solutions to society’s problems. Students will also see the educational pathways that lead to successful STEM careers.

How can you use the videos in instruction?The Teaching Tips section provides several activity ideas for using the videos in your classroom. The process can be used once with a single video, or over and over again to allow students to build on their work with each successive video (a process known as “iterative metacognition”).

The process outlined in the Teaching Tips will help your students

be self-reflective about their goals, interests, and skills;

gain writing and communication skills through journaling;

understand authentic career pathways of practicing scientists;

consider their future in concrete terms and develop a personalized mission statement;

consider how STEM touches them in their everyday lives;

explore the societal impacts of STEM careers; and

determine STEM skills that everyone needs to know, regardless of their job.

There are two student handouts you can use to complement the activities shared in the Teaching Tips:

Quick-Start SuggestionIf you simply want to embed a video in one of your lessons, match the career with the topic you are covering. For more videos, visit The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers website.

Introduce the video: "In this video, you will hear from [insert name and job]."

Prompt students to look for something specific: "While you are watching, notice how [he/she] is connected to [fill in the topic you are working on]."

Activity #1: Whom do you know in a STEM career?STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM fields include Chemistry, Computer and Information Technology Science, Engineering, Geosciences, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics, among others.

Ask students what they know about STEM careers, and have them share their ideas with the class. Generate a list of job titles and career fields on the board. Note: You may prefer to list some jobs on the board beforehand, to jump-start the discussion. Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website for some sample job titles and descriptions.

After you have made a list, ask students the following:

Who are some scientists or engineers that you have heard of, and what do they do?

What are some nonscience/nonengineering jobs in which knowledge of science and mathematics may be useful?

What kinds of science, engineering, and mathematics careers do you think will be most important in the future?

Introduce the video and tell students, We are going to watch a video about [name of scientist or engineer]. Look for what sparked [his/her] interest and why [he/she] wanted to become a [name of job/profession].

Watch the video.

After Viewing the Video

Activity #1: Exploring Interests

Provide students with discussion questions or journaling prompts:

What sparked the profiled person’s interest?

Then ask, What are YOUR interests?

To help students answer these questions, have them consider the activities that they participate in during their free time. Do they play outdoors? Do they read books, make models, or listen to music? Do they like cooking or crafts? Give them time to write down their interests.

Next, using sticky notes, have students display their interests up on the board. Look for patterns that may reveal shared interests among some students. It’s great for both you and your students to see which ones share the same interests and which ones have interests that might be unique to them. You may identify both shared and unique interests and group the sticky notes accordingly.

Then ask, What are your skills? To get students started, you might mention skills such as problem solving, computer programming, or creative thinking.

(Option 1) Research project—individual: After students have watched several of the videos and begun to see connections between certain personalities and career fields, have them complete the following steps to explore a career in more detail.

Start by having each student select a career field featured in one or more of the videos and discuss why that career appeals to him or her.

Next, have students research the education and experience requirements for their chosen career.

(Option 2) Research project—small-group:

Divide the class into groups of two or three students each. Assign a video profile to each group, and have the groups research and prepare a short presentation for the class about the career path of their profiled scientist or engineer. They may view related videos and other written material found in The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers website or explore other sites to complete their research. Emphasize that they should focus on the interests and career path of the profiled scientist or engineer, not the specific tasks that he or she does or a particular project with which he or she is associated.In preparing for the presentations, make sure each group addresses the following:

How did this person become interested in his/her field?

What kind of education did he/she need?

What was his/her first job?

How did he/she advance to his/her current position?

Next, have the groups research the typical career path from an entry-level position to a high-ranking job. If possible, provide students with real CVs/résumés to look at. Ask them to select a job that appeals to them within the chosen career path and summarize the responsibilities listed under the position description. What are the education and experience requirements for this job?

Suggestion: Use a classroom bulletin board to help visualize the following information: The person -> His or her pathway/the skills he or she gained along the way -> The impact of his or her field of work on society.

Extension idea: After students have completed this exercise, have them interview a local STEM professional (using the same questions) and report back to the class. Or, invite some local STEM professionals to the classroom and have a student panel interview them with these questions in mind.

Assign a video profile to each student to watch. Provide students with discussion questions or journaling prompts:

How does the person and career in the video impact the world?

What problems is he/she trying to solve?

What products do he/she make or shape that are a part of your life?

How do people with this career touch YOUR life?

Research project—individual: As they watch the video profile, have students reflect on, or explicitly describe, how the profiled scientist's work impacts the world. After watching the video, have students use or adapt the following steps to prepare a personal mission statement. The steps are repeated in the What's My Mission? worksheet.

List at least seven strengths and talents that possess, in order of their importance to you. Examples: good at solving problems, good at working with my hands, good at mathematics, etc.

List five skills that you wish to develop. These could include skills that you already have but would like to expand further, or new skills that you feel are important to acquire. Examples: expand technical skills to include computer programming, become a more confident public speaker, etc.

What are my goals? Think about what you want to achieve, including what impact you want to have in your community.

Write down three or four goals. Then look back at your strengths and talents. How will they help you reach your goals?

Next, look at the skills you wish to develop. Explain how these new skills can help you reach your goals.

Using your answers to the preceding questions, draft your personal mission statement. This can be written in paragraph form or as a list of brief statements. A personal mission statement does not have to be final; it is a work in progress that you should review and revise regularly.

You can use the following statements to help organize your draft:

I, [your name], recognize my strengths and talents as [list them].

I need to build skills in [name areas].

I will take these steps to reach [name goal].

I plan to complete [name goal] by [date].

I am planning to impact the world by [list ways].

Note: As students watch the videos and are exposed to different careers, encourage them to return to, reflect on, and revise their interests, goals, and mission statements.

Activity #4: Career PlanningAfter students have watched several of the videos, have them complete the following steps to finding a career in a field that may fit their skills and interests.

Ask students to think about what kinds of careers could incorporate their interests and skills and enable them to make the impacts that they want to make on their world.

Have each student select one career field featured in the videos and discuss the reasons why that career appeals to him or her.

Have students write a paragraph or two on what they might hope to achieve in a career in this field.

Have students share their career interests on a poster or whiteboard. Allow them to represent their career interests in more creative ways as well, such as with illustrations or objects, by dressing the part, and so on.

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